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Product Marketer — Postmypost

Product Marketer

Nikiforov Alexander
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Role of a Product Marketer

A product marketer, also known as a Product Marketing Manager (PMM), is a key specialist who manages the full cycle of promoting an IT product, whether it is a program, service, game, or application. The primary task of a PMM is to develop a go-to-market strategy, define positioning and pricing, and establish the product's value. This specialist acts as a link between the development, marketing, and sales teams, ensuring synchronization of all departments’ work. Each of them has its own KPIs, which sometimes complicates interaction; however, the PMM helps eliminate these barriers and create a unified system for promoting and selling the product.

Responsibilities of a Product Marketer

A product marketer may work in the marketing department or the product department, and in rare cases, report directly to the CEO. Since the profession is relatively new, the responsibilities of a PMM can vary depending on the specifics of the product and the needs of the company. However, several key tasks that a PMM most often performs can be identified:

  • Market and competitor analysis, studying trends and demand, developing and implementing a marketing strategy for product launch.
  • Formulating positioning and unique selling propositions (USP), defining the product's key values.
  • Selecting promotion tools and communication channels, developing and scaling customer acquisition mechanics, analyzing the effectiveness of marketing activities.
  • Creating a target audience profile, analyzing and segmenting customers, conducting in-depth interviews and other marketing research.
  • Assessing product-market fit and developing recommendations for its improvement.
  • Defining pricing and unit economics, calculating product profitability.

Additionally, the PMM manages marketing campaigns and initiatives that help convey the product's value to the user, starting from the moment the user sees an advertisement and ending with repeat purchases. They are also responsible for user onboarding, satisfaction assessment, and customer retention efforts.

Key Skills

To successfully perform their duties, a PMM must possess both general and professional skills.

General Skills (Soft Skills)

  • Communication skills: the ability to conduct interviews, presentations, and negotiations, work in a team, and find an approach to various process participants.
  • Analytical abilities: the capability to formulate hypotheses, identify relationships, and draw conclusions based on research.
  • Proficiency in English at the Intermediate level or higher for working with international products.
  • Teamwork: the ability to unite different departments and build collaborative work.
  • Goal-setting: setting objectives with a focus on key product metrics.
  • Critical thinking: the ability to structure information and analyze it in the context of product goals.

Professional Skills (Hard Skills)

  • Knowledge in internet marketing, including SEO/ASO, SMM, and email marketing.
  • Skills in working with analytics systems, such as Google Analytics and Yandex.Metrica.
  • Ability to build customer scenarios and conduct in-depth interviews (CustDev).
  • Experience in creating creative content, including writing ads and developing visual communications.

How to Become a Product Marketer

Mastering the profession of a product marketer from scratch is challenging, as it requires deep knowledge of marketing and product management. Usually, specialists from related fields, such as marketers or product managers, transition into this area. Some professionals acquire the necessary skills on the job, working in product companies in other roles.

Additionally, educational platforms offer courses that teach the basics of marketing, product management, and demand generation. Courses can last from 6 to 12 months and cost between 80,000 to 150,000 rubles. Recommended courses include:

  • “Product Marketer” from GeekBrains with a job placement guarantee.
  • “Product Marketing and Analytics” from Netology with full immersion in the subject.

Demand for the Profession

The profession of product marketer is just beginning to develop in Russia, and the demand for these specialists is growing, especially in large companies that develop IT services. The average salary for a PMM ranges from 80,000 to 120,000 rubles, and for managers with technical experience, it starts at 200,000 rubles per month. Despite the relatively low number of job vacancies, the profession is becoming increasingly relevant, considering that companies often look for specialists who can perform multiple roles, including PMM functions and other marketing areas.